Political risk must-reads

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Eurasia Group’s weekly selection of essential reading for the political-risk junkie — presented in no particular order, and shared from ForeignPolicy.com. As always, feel free to give us your feedback or selections by tweeting at us via @EurasiaGroup or @ianbremmer.

“The euro ceases to exist the moment that France leaves, and that is our incredible strength. What are they going to do, send in tanks?” These are the words of Marie Le Pen. But French voters are warming up to her Front National party—in the most recent national polls, it’s running even with the two traditional parties.

Many of the underlying problems attributed with sparking unrest in Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, and the European periphery are present in some Asian countries as well. Is it only a matter of time before protests spread to Asia?

In the United States’ longest living areas like Fairfax County, Virginia, life expectancies “rival those of Switzerland and Japan.” But one in nine U.S. counties has a life expectancy lower than Nicaragua’s. Welcome to the United States’ life expectancy riddle.

In 1958, President Eisenhower sanctioned a nuclear research plant in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, the dilapidated plant has four-foot walls, a single guard, and employees who are paid just $100 a month and have access to stockpiles of valuable enriched-uranium fuel rods. Two of these rods went missing in 1997.

Author Profile

Ian Bremmer is the president of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Bremmer created Wall Street's first global political risk index, and has authored several books, including the national bestseller, The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?, which details the new global phenomenon of state capitalism and its geopolitical implications. He has a PhD in political science from Stanford University (1994), and was the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution.